MD Magazine (10/29, Ward) reports, “Patients with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], such as ulcerative colitis,” may be “at an increased risk of developing mental illness,” researchers concluded after combing “through a commercial database containing electronic health record data from 26 major integrated US healthcare systems to aggregate a patient cohort of individuals with a diagnosis of UC and depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder between 2014 and 2019 using the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms.” The findings were presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Psychiatric Illness More Prevalent in People With Ulcerative Colitis, “Alexandra Ward, MD Magazine, October 29, 2019

Reuters (10/31, Rapaport) reports a recent study suggests that people “who have stress disorders like PTSD may be more vulnerable to potentially life-threatening infections, especially if they are diagnosed at younger ages or dealing with other psychiatric issues.” Researchers “examined data on 144,919 people diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)” and also “looked at data for 184,612 siblings of these subjects who didn’t have a stress disorder, along with more than 1.4 million unrelated individuals without these disorders.” The study was published in The BMJ, along with an accompanying editorial that the findings add to a large body of evidence linking PTSD and other stress-related mental health problems to an increased risk of poor physical health.

Related Links:

— “Stress disorders tied to risk for life-threatening infections, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, October 31, 2019

The AP (10/30, Miller) reports, “The Trump administration has unveiled a website” – FindTreatment.gov – that aims to help “millions of Americans with substance abuse issues learn about and locate treatment options.” The White House “said it believes the site…will enable the tens of millions of Americans with a variety of substance abuse and mental health issues to better access the care they need.” The site, which is “the latest development in the administration’s effort to address the nation’s opioid crisis,” adds user-friendly search criteria and tools to “an obscure directory of 13,000 licensed [healthcare professionals] maintained by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.”

The Washington Post (10/30, Bernstein) reports the website includes information about “an array of treatment programs, including inpatient and outpatient services, as well as help for people under 18, veterans and members of the LGBTQ community.” Users will be able “to search for programs that accept different kinds of insurance and offer particular medications, such as buprenorphine or methadone.” Moreover, “the 13,000 [healthcare professionals] listed on the site have all been licensed by their states.”

The Hill (10/30, Sullivan) reports the site will also guide users to healthcare professionals that accept Medicaid.

Medscape (10/30, Ault, Subscription Publication) also reports.

Related Links:

— “White House launches website aimed at addiction treatment, “Zeke Miller, AP, October 30, 2019

Healio (10/30, Gramigna) reports that at the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, investigators “showcased a parent-mediated, group-based intervention called the Autism Managing Eating Aversions and Limited variety, or MEAL, Plan” for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). According to Healio, “a main component of the MEAL Plan involves matching the intervention to the severity of food selectivity.” The article does not disclose how many children have received the intervention.

Related Links:

— “Autism MEAL Plan offers multidisciplinary approach to address food selectivity, “Joe Gramigna, Healio , October 30, 2019

HealthDay (10/29, Hirsch) reports, “Unpaid bills, overdrawn accounts, dwindling investments: When seniors begin experiencing fiscal troubles, early dementia or Alzheimer’s disease could be an underlying cause,” researchers concluded after linking “Medicare fee-for-service claims data and the national Health and Retirement Study of Americans over the age of 50 for the years 1992 to 2014.” The findings were published online in the journal Health Economics.

Related Links:

— “For Seniors, Financial Woes Can Be Forerunner to Alzheimer’s, “Deborah DiSesa Hirsch, HealthDay, October 29, 2019

Newsweek (10/29, Lemieux) reports research indicates that “76 percent of girls who self-harm will end up hospitalized, compared to only 49 percent of boys.” For the study, Welsh investigators “examined 15,739 cases of self-harm,” focusing “on persons from ages 10 to 24, taking place between 2003 and 2015.” The study also revealed that “the highest rate of self-harm was among 15- to 19-year-olds, a statistic that matched the findings of a suicide hotline organization.” The article does not disclose where the findings were presented or published, but reports that “the study is part of a consultation launched by the Welsh government to tackle mental health concerns among the populace.” BBC News (UK)(10/29) also covers the study.
Related Links:

— “Girls More Likely To End Up In Hospital After Self-Harm Incidents, Study Says, “Melissa Lemieux, Newsweek, October 29, 2019

The Boston Globe (10/29, Fernandes) reports that the rise in suicides among college-aged people “has left many campuses across the country grappling with how best to help the growing number of students who are suffering from depression, anxiety, and a host of other mental health issues.” Some colleges are increasing “counseling services or deploying mobile apps that allow students to routinely check in on their emotional health,” while others “are training academic advisers to spot the signs of depression and embedding counselors in campus cultural groups to help students of color, who may be less likely to seek traditional therapy.” While exact numbers for suicides among college students are difficult to ascertain, a recent review by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting “found that from 2007 to 2016, at least 18 students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and 8 students each at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University killed themselves.”

Related Links:

— “Colleges struggle to help growing number of students with mental health trouble, ” Deirdre Fernandes, The Boston Globe, October 29, 2019

HealthDay (10/28, Reinberg) reports, “Children with an autism spectrum disorder [ASD] may be twice as likely to experience pain as kids without autism,” researchers concluded after gathering “data on pain from nearly 1,500 children with autism ages six to 17, and nearly 49,000 children without autism.” The findings were published online Oct. 28 in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Pain Twice as Common for Kids With Autism: Study, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay , October 28, 2019

Healio (10/28, Gramigna) reports, “Middle-aged adults with borderline personality disorder, or BPD, may be more likely to have a heart attack,” research indicated. The findings of the 1,295-participant study were published online in Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment.

Related Links:

— “Borderline personality disorder may increase risk for heart attack, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 28, 2019

Healio (10/28, Gramigna) reports, “Individuals with mental disorders have significantly higher mortality rates than the general population,” researchers concluded in “a Danish register-based cohort study” involving 7,369,926 people. The findings were published online Oct. 24 in The Lancet.

Related Links:

— “People with mental disorders die significantly earlier than general population, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 28, 2019